In 1990 author, naturalist and photographer Dave Taylor set out to research and photograph black bears in North America - a quest that took him from the high arctic to the swamps of Florida, and from the East Coast to the shores of the Pacific. Of the three species native to this part of the world - the grizzly or brown bear, the polar bear, and the black bear - Taylor devotes this beautifully embellished volume exclusively to the black bear, the most numerous of North America's three bear species. Lavishly illustrated throughout with more than 100 full-colour photographs, maps and charts, Black Bears introduces the reader to this shy, reclusive and largely misunderstood animal with an encyclopedic examination of the black bear's world by state, province and territory. The diet, dens, mating habits, habitat, and hibernation are examined in Taylor's lively text, as is the bear's adaptation to the encroachment of civilization into its territory. A special section of the book dealing with bears and people, offers valuable advice on camping in bear country, and what to do when encountering bears in the wilderness.